Virginia's Law: How Democrat proposal could spark flood of sex abuse claims

"Democrats in the United States Congress have proposed a new law which would fully scrap the statute of limitations for federal civil sex abuse cases. The proposed legislation has been named Virginia's Law after Virginia Giuffre, who accused the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates of sexually abusing and trafficking her in the 1990s when she was a teenager."

"The proposal for the new law has been introduced to the US Congress by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, alongside Giuffre's family. It is a federal bill which would remove the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits regarding sexual abuse and trafficking. Civil cases are private disputes between individuals and organisations, while criminal cases involve the government prosecuting individuals for breaking laws."

"Under federal criminal law, most offences must be prosecuted within five years, but there is no time limit at all for many trafficking and child sexual abuse crimes, which can be charged decades after the fact. According to US federal antitrafficking law, a victim of federal traffickingrelated offences has 10 years to lodge a civil suit after a crime took place. If the crime took place when the victim was a minor, then they have 10 years to sue from when they turn 18."

Democrats in the US Congress introduced Virginia's Law to remove the federal civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse and trafficking cases. The bill is named after Virginia Giuffre, who accused Jeffrey Epstein and associates of abusing and trafficking her as a teenager; Giuffre later died by suicide after settling a case against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The proposal was filed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez with Giuffre's family. The measure would eliminate the current 10-year time limit for federal civil suits related to sexual abuse and trafficking and apply regardless of when abuses occurred.

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